Mobility2Grid Research Campus – Networked Systems for Climate-Neutral Cities

There is one question Isabelle Quinton asks herself every day. How can the goal of climate-neutral cities be achieved with efficient and networked transport and energy systems in the face of growing mobility demands?

The question is integral to the neo-mobility package that Quinton, a works student, is researching as part of the Mobility2Grid project. “In the past I never had anything to do with topics such as climate-neutral cities or the electrification of all forms of transport“, says Quinton, who is originally from Brazil and currently doing a Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Mobility at Technische Universität (TU) Berlin.

The energy transition needs society’s input

TU Berlin is part of the Mobility2Grid research campus which in 2016 was set up as a public-private partnership involving enterprises, universities and research institutions for the purpose of working on key questions surrounding the energy transition and innovative mobility solutions.

The idea behind the Mobility2Grid project is to integrate commercial and private electric road vehicles in decentralised energy networks. With the help of state-of-the-art technology and public support, the aim is to secure affordable heating, electricity and transport throughout using renewable energies.

The Berlin EUREF campus functions as a testing and reference point in order to define the parameters of a decentralised supply system for developing a sustainable urban environment. The project is currently in its second five-year funding phase. Mobility2Grid II is divided into eight work packages: network integration, automated driving and charging, electrification of fleets and depots, neo-mobility and transfer areas. Three other work packages, participation and acceptance, internal monitoring and knowledge management as well as knowledge transfer are of primary importance.

Joint visions of innovative mobility solutions

In her work on neo-mobility, Isabelle Quinton is currently researching new mobility options and transport systems, the varying demands on the energy network due to electrification of various forms of transports and new concepts for shaping the urban environment and individual areas. “In Brazil, the kind of visions I have experienced here in Berlin or Europe as a whole do not yet exist“, says Quinton, who completed the first part of her Master’s degree in Buenos Aires. “In my view, working on the Mobility2Grid project considerably broadens the mind.“

The things being analysed and tested at the laboratory on the EUREF campus have the potential to be incorporated in other urban and municipal areas. In that respect, the Mobility2Grid is contributing decisively to the transformation of urban energy and transport systems.

Between 2022 and 2027 the network of 35 science and business partners will receive funds totalling ten million euros from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

A detailed account of the overall findings during the first funding phase can be found under the title ‘Mobility2Grid — Sektorenübergreifende Energie- und Verkehrswende’ in a series published by Springer Verlag (Mobility2Grid – The cross-sectoral transformation of energy and transport’).